off the bat
In a trajectory caused by being hit by a bat. A good defensive player needs to be able to read the ball off the bat. With the way the ball jumped off the bat, the pitcher is lucky he didn't get beaned in the head!
right off the bat
Immediately; at once; without delay. Right off the bat, I could tell that the plan had no chance of success. Sarah's parents took to her new girlfriend right off the bat.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
right off the bat
and straight off the batFig. immediately; first thing. When he was learning to ride a bicycle, he fell on his head right off the bat. The new manager demanded new office furniture right off the bat.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
right off the bat
Instantly, immediately, as in I can't tell you how many right off the bat, but I can find out. This term alludes to a baseball being hit by a bat. [First half of 1900s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
right off the bat
mainly AMERICANIf something happens right off the bat, it happens immediately or at the very beginning of a process. I learned right off the bat that you can't rely on anything in this business. Right off the bat I had a problem that meant I had to stop work. Note: The image here is of a ball bouncing quickly off a baseball bat.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
right off the bat
at the very beginning; straight away. North AmericanFarlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
(right) off the ˈbat
(informal, especially American English) immediately; without delay: They liked each other very much, right off the bat.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
right off the bat
Without hesitation; immediately: They responded right off the bat.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
right off the bat
Spontaneously, immediately, without forethought. This term comes from baseball and presumably alludes to something being done as quickly as a ball leaves the bat after being hit. Dating from the late nineteenth century, it began life as hot from the bat. A New Yorker article from 1955 stated: “You can tell right off the bat that they’re wicked.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer